Emotional Battles
by JJRizzles
Summary: Jane and Maura have issues figuring out how they're going to get what they want, or if they can even risk it. Rated M for potential future chapters. Rizzles pairing! This is my first time writing an RandI fic, so go easy on me! R&R please! :) No copyright infringement intended; I own nothing, sadly. :/
1. Chapter 1

**Maura's POV**

Maura looked around at her office, debating on whether or not she liked how she rearranged her office. She dropped her hands to her sides, sighing. Heading towards through her office, she decided to begin the autopsy on the Jane Doe that had come in the night before. Found in her home, the woman's skin was becoming little more than a slippery layer of what once was her body's barrier from the harmful environment she had grown up in. Senior Criminalist, Susie Chang, had performed several x-rays once Jane Doe arrived, and, not wanting to further her procedures until Maura had arrived, had put her to bed. The x-rays had shown many calloused radial fractures to her long bones, as well as a newer fracture to her left zygomatic arch. Before beginning the autopsy, she pulled her phone out and hooked her headphones to it, turning the music up to just under 85 decibels. She loved music, but she wasn't so brash as to allow her love of it to dull her hearing. Placing the headphones in her ears and her phone in the breast pocket of her scrubs, she tied her hair up. Wearing scrubs always helped in covering her efficiently, but performing an autopsy was dirty work, so she always took the precaution to cover herself with a disposable lab coat. Once she was properly covered, she began the autopsy. A few hours later, Maura had just placed the stomach contents into a tray, as well as the small intestine. The doctor felt the dull thrill trickle into her limbs as she worked on her favorite step in the autopsy. She had already weighed and cataloged all of the organs, and their individual states of health. She placed her foot on the small pedal that had been installed into each table per her request, making her job slightly easier instead of having to transcribe her notes mid-autopsy, the pain of wasted gloves and a higher risk of contamination not in her list of things she needed to worry about during her day, and recorded her first find in the stomach contents. Suddenly, her heart race picked up as one of her favorite songs came up in the shuffle her phone was performing. Smiling, Maura began to sway her hips along with the beat of the music while analyzing the bowl of partially digested food and beverages, humming and quietly singing a few words. Her mind flashed through all of the memories she had listening to this song; the first time she heard it on the radio, when she had heard it while shopping in one of those stores that had their music ridiculously loud, and then, most recently, herself singing at the top of her lungs while cooking dinner, and then having an unexpected voice join in from near the front of the house, causing her to spin around in surprise, seeing Jane standing in an overly dramatic pose, trying to maintain her façade while the doctor had begun laughing at the silliness of the picture Jane had made, arms spread out wide and a comical expression gracing her face. Maura laughed at the memory, shaking her head and mimicking Jane's moves, singing louder than she had previously. She started serenading Jane Doe, just because she was there, only pausing to vocally take notes about what she was discovering in the bowl she was dancing with.

**Jane's POV**

Frustrated with how little they were discovering about the body that had come in a week ago, Jane took her lunch break early, deciding to go visit Maura downstairs and treat her to lunch. She stopped by the café really quick to talk to her mom about gnocchi night, but Angela was nowhere to be found. Assuming that her mother had taken her lunch break as well, she shrugged and resumed her travels to go fetch Maura. During the elevator ride, Jane always got this giddy feeling, like she was a teen again going on her first date with a long-time crush. She frowned, leaning against the elevator wall and rubbing her face. This is ridiculous. _She's just a friend, Jane. Quit being an idiot. If it was gonna happen, it would've already. _Groaning, she pushed off of the wall and placed herself in the center of the elevator, standing straight. She had tried pretty much everything besides the obvious: being blunt. Maura was either completely oblivious, or seriously _not_ interested. The elevator dinged, signaling the end to the ride. Stepping out of the elevator, she was immediately bombarded with the sound of Maura's singing.

"_Cause you know in your heart, baby,_

_Our love will never end, no._

_You'll always be a part of me,_

_I'm part of you indefinitely,_

_Girl, don't you know you can't escape me,_

_Oo darlin', cause you'll always be my baby."_

Jane's eyebrows rose, and she slowly walked into the morgue, a smile spreading across her face as she watched Maura singing a Mariah Carey song in her adorably out-of-tune voice to the Jane Doe they had talked about through text earlier in the day. Her expression turned into a full blown grin though, when the doctor giggled and did a similar pose to what she had only done last week to mess with Maur when she unexpectedly stopped by, the only real difference was that she held a bowl of some sort of sludge. She leaned against one of the clean autopsy tables, perfectly content to go unnoticed. She watched as Maura made her way up and down the table, dancing to her hearts' desire, making Jane wish she had kept with her ballet lessons. Her eyes roamed the length of the doctors' body, smirking at the black scrubs underneath the lab coat. _Always efficient, this one._ Trying to smother her laugh that escaped right as Maura abruptly stopped dancing and singing in order to _Oo _and _Ah_ at the bowl-o-sludge, the slight leg movement and then Maura's adorably professional tone she took on when she was recording her notes cued Jane in on the need for silence. Covering her mouth, she waited for Maura to resume her dancing, but was sort of let down after the doc picked up a scalpel, apparently finished with the sludge, and moved on to an intestine. _Ew, I don't know how she does that._ Before she could help herself, she uttered the word 'Vomit', and pretended to gag, her hand going to her stomach. She noticed the immediate stiffening of Maura's back at her crude noises, and plastered a classic Rizzoli smirk to her face as Maura turned, pointing the scalpel at Jane, her eyes narrowed.

"How long have you been down here?"

Jane feigned looking around to find whom the question was directed at, the hand that was previously on her stomach sliding up to point at herself, and, eyebrows raised, mouthed '_Me?' _Maura's eyes narrowed further, and her dimple became more pronounced, drawing Jane's eye. Looking at the dimple, she couldn't keep up the act anymore and smiled.

"Long enough to know that you have some pretty rockin' eighties dance moves!" As she said the last four words, Jane thrust her fists out and rotated them in sequence to her hips, winking at the doctor, who in turn blushed, her eyes widening. That look always made her look so innocent, and in some ways she was, but in others she was a little too… knowledgeable. Laughing, Jane walked over and plucked the headphones out of Maura's ears, wrapping the cord around her fingers in order to place it in the pocket that she had her phone in. Following the cord, Jane realized a moment too late that Maura had placed her phone in her breast pocket, and tucked the cord as lightly as possible into the pocket without touching anything.

Clearing her throat, Jane looked pointedly at the clock.

"Is it lunchtime already? Excellent, I'm famished. Let me just put some of these organs back, and wrap it up with the intestines and I can take my lunch."

Nodding, Jane sat on the autopsy table she had leaned against earlier, and twenty minutes later they were off to lunch.

**Maura's POV**

They had gone out to one of Jane's favorite restaurants, one of those nice French diners close to the precinct. Jane couldn't get enough of their never-ending supply of croissants, and if she didn't cease devouring the entire basket, she wasn't going to have room for lunch. Laughing at the cross-eyed look Jane had given her when she took another bite of one, Maura placed her hand over the croissant before Jane had another bite, stopping Jane's hand.

"Jane, really, you're going to become full before the appetizers even arrive. Please save some room for the food. I know you love the croissants, but you need a little bit of protein, something… nutritious, instead of simple carbohydrates."

Pausing in her motions, Jane stared at Maura's hand for a second, her mouth open, and then looked up at Maura. Her entire upper body sagged in defeat, rolling her eyes and placing the remaining croissant on the plate.

"Fine, but if you ever tell my mother I let you talk me into eating something remotely healthy, I will deny it whole-heartedly, and then I will proceed to tell everyone in the entire precinct about your cute eighties moves you do when you think no one is looking." Jane raised an eyebrow in challenge, making miniature disco moves. Gasping, Maura placed a hand over her heart.

"You wouldn't dare! But Jane… I… would never…" Jane leaned back, smirking at the way Maura's words tumbled over one another in their rush to come out.

"Alright then, that's settled? What happens in the café, stays in the café, and what happens… when… you… listen to music stays between us." Maura's head jerks up suddenly, staring at Jane for a split second, and then acting as if she hadn't reacted, her face turning a light shade of pink, she went about tidying her already spotless side of the table. _Do you think Jane noticed? That I had been thinking about her? No, people are incapable of reading thoughts, Maura._

"Thank you for your discretion." Jane laughed at the statement, and looked like she was getting ready to tease Maura some more about her dancing, when she decided to distract Jane by perking up at the sight of their waitress bringing them their food. Clapping her hands a few times, Maura grinned, watching the waitress set their food down, and thanking her. Looking up, Maura caught Jane taking a massive bite of her croque-monsieur, closing her eyes and relishing in the taste of the ham, cheese melting down her chin.

"Goodness gracious, Jane! It's like you've never eaten. Why are you so voracious all of a sudden?" Reaching over, Maura wiped the off of Jane's face before she could use her sleeve. As soon as Maura reached across the table, her hand slowed, lingering slightly longer than necessary, her eyes met Jane's, and breathing became difficult. _Oh god, what am I doing? Maura! Snap out of it._ Pulling away, she placed her hands in her lap for a bit, fidgeting with the napkin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, Maur… I don't mind." Her head snapped up.

"You… don't mind that I just treated you as though you were a toddler?"

"Nah, 'specially if I'm acting like one. It isn't like anyone was paying attention anyway." Jane winks at her, and Maura doesn't know how to react, pursing her lips.

"I… you… Jane, you are a deceptively complex creature. I never know what to expect from you." Raising her eyebrow, Jane chews slowly and decides what to say next, eyeing the doctor.

"I'm complex? Have you met yourself, Dr. Isles? The woman who dresses impeccably, as though she was participating in a runway show, even when she's sleeping _alone_, is excellent at chess, knows the weirdest facts about things no one would normally even give a second thought to, let alone a first. You're an ME, and a yoga enthusiast, who owns a turtle as a pet, houses her LLBFF's ma in her guesthouse cause Pop is having some weird-ass midlife crisis. And _I'm_ the complex one?" The entire time Jane is talking, she's making crazy gestures with her sandwich, Maura's eyes widened at each point Jane made, but still couldn't help correct her.

"Language, Jane. And Bass is a tortoise."

Jane just stared.

"What? Why… why are you staring at me? Was it something I said?"

**Jane's POV**

This woman infuriated her. How could she lo… _Love?!_ Jane felt herself freeze as the thought crossed paths with her conscious mind. _Like… _love _love? Like 'in love'?_ Maura was saying something to her, concern on her face, jolting her back from her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. You always correct me. It's… well, it's kinda cute, but at the same time I want to strangle you." Maura's fork clattered onto the plate, and she gingerly placed it beside the plate on the table.

"I'm afraid you wouldn't get away with it. Detective Frost would arrest you." Jane had to cover her mouth in order to avoid spewing ham and cheese at Maura, her laughter was so uproarious. She pointed at the doctor, shaking her head at Maura's lack of social skills.

"_That_ is because Frost has an enormous crush on you. You just don't know it."

"What?! Jane! Unless he told you, I wouldn't jump to conclusions. He doesn't have a… _crush_ on me. You indulge too much in conjecture." Maura shook her head in disapproval, wiping her mouth with her napkin, having barely touched her salad. Scoffing, Jane replied with a smirk and a knowing look.

"Oh no. Maura he has the _cutest_ little crush on you. Every time you walk into the room he stares at you. Haven't you ever noticed the way he stutters when it's just you and him?" Slightly more serious, Jane looks incredulous when Maura begins to speak in a higher octave than normal.

"Jane, that's preposterous. I… he doesn't think that way about me. No one does unless I bring up sexual intercourse first." Taken aback, Jane leans forward, looking dumbfounded. Her hand covers Maura's on the table, trying to tear away the shades covering her eyes.

"Maura, face it, you're hot. Half the freakin' precinct has the hots for you. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but it's the truth. The fact that you think that people don't think about you sexually unless you bring it up is… preposterous. You're gorgeous! I keep trying to tell you, but you're oblivious. Either that or you block any and/or all attention of the sort until you're looking for it yourself." She rubbed her thumb along Maura's wrist, staring at her. She didn't speak for awhile, lost in thought, Maura was staring at the table where their hands were intertwined.

**Maura's POV**

She had upturned her hand to hold Jane's in hers without realizing it. She watched as her arm erupted in cutis anserine, or piloerection. Stifling a shudder, she chastised herself for allowing her libido to become this heightened. She bit her lip, worrying it as she analyzed the information just given her.

"Can I ask you a question?" Jane nodded, waiting for her to ask. "Do… Why?"

"… What?" Jane's face became blank, her tone flat. Her thumb stopped its movement on her wrist.

"Why are you so sweet to me?" Maura felt confused, humbled, and quite small. She felt like she had when she was younger, the only girl that was never asked to the college frat parties because she was 'cool', but by necessity. She felt exposed, wary of her surroundings and the response Jane would give her.

"Because I love you, you know that. I… think this conversation should go further, but not when we're constrained for time. C'mon, lets head back. We've got less than ten minutes until our lunch is over."

Getting up, Maura felt that familiar flutter in her stomach that occurred every time Jane said those three words. She denied herself the indulgence; knowing that she couldn't handle the letdown if she did, in fact, indulge. Fantasies were simply that: a fantasy. She felt her eyes tear up, and squared her jaw, refusing to let anyone see her this way. She slipped the barrier between her work and personal life back into place. She couldn't afford losing her Jane. The risk wasn't worth the possible cost. Their friendship would be enough. At least, that's what she kept repeating, hopeful that one day she'd believe it.


	2. Chapter 2

CH2

**Jane's POV**

"Hey Maur? I have a serious question to ask you. Can I get an honest ans… Nevermind, that was a dumb question. Will you answer it?" Jane stared intently at the doctor.

"Mmm… No. Yes. No… I'm not sure. Ask and I'll decide whether or not to answer it. Wait… I'm confused. Do you want me to answer the 'dumb question' that you failed to finish, or the serious question?" Maura bit her lip, a mildly concerned look pointed at Jane's 'Serious Face'.

"What? The serious one! No Maura. That isn't how it works, you either answer or you don't, you can't decide _after_ the question is asked. Fine, I'll just ask you until I get an answer out of you. Okay… Are you ready?" All expression fell from Maura's face, telling Jane that she should probably just continue before Maura started spewing off random facts about… something random. "If you could be any superhero, who would you be? You know, from the comics?" They were sitting on Jane's couch, Jo Friday snuggled into their laps. She was literally sprawled out over both of their laps. Maura paused in raising her beer bottle to her lips, her brow furrowed, and her hand with the beer dropped to the couch, what was left of the beer sloshing inside the bottle.

"Really Jane? _That's_ your 'serious' question? That's… utterly pointless. I… What? I don't even know what to make of that. You know what, I'm not going to answer you." Jane's jaw dropped open slightly, her arms going out to her sides, one hand holding her beer, the other with the palm facing up in front of the doctor.

"Maura! This is serious! This is like when you badgered me into telling you about my nearly nonexistent wedding fantasy! You _owe_ me!" Maura sipped her beer, pointing at Jane with the neck.

"That is false; I did not _badger you_, I simply asked-"

"Repeatedly!" Maura spun to face Jane, a hand to her chest and eyes wide.

"I did not ask the same question more than once!" Jane's eyes narrowed, flicking Maura's nose lightly, smirking.

"Nice try, doc. You SO asked the same question more than once! Just because they were different variations of the same damn question _does not_ _mean_ it's a different question. Maybe you've just got weird ass standards. And answer me! Please? I really need to know. Unless it's something dumb like an _Archie_ character or something. I'd have to… do something about that." Maura sighed, trying to reach the table to place her empty beer bottle on the coaster she had brought over one evening. Her legs came up off of the floor, becoming parallel with her as she tried to reach with no avail, Jo on her lap not helping. Since she couldn't use her hands, she transferred the bottle to her feet, placing it neatly on the table that way, improvising. Jane's eyebrow rose as she waited for the medical examiner's response, and at her bottle-placing technique.

"I don't even know whom this _Archie_ man is. Why would I want to be something that doesn't exist?" Jane stared at Maura, frozen in horror.

"Doesn't exist? That's the point! If we use our imagination, we can create anything we'd like! Well almost anything. I've always wanted to be She-Hulk! She's smokin', and is soo cool!" Maura frowned at Jane's enthusiasm.

"I worry about you. Wait, you find her attractive? When did you begin liking women? This is new…" Jane paused, realized that she had just called a woman 'smokin'', and then paled when she further realized she had uttered it aloud.

"Uh… shit. I, um… Maura… Maur…I… _Ugh._" Jane groaned, fiddling with the beer label, getting up abruptly and tossing her beer, taking Maura's bottle with her to the kitchen. "I've been… self-analyzing a lot lately. Every man that I've been with I've either pushed away, or let them walk away. I honestly don't think I care about them enough… _romantically_, to keep them around. I mean, Dean… Well, you know about Dean. If it comes down between a boy-toy and my LLBFF, it's gonna be you. But… Casey? I love him… as a friend. I'm not _in_ love with him, and I think for the longest time I was afraid to admit it to myself, ya know?" As Jane's rambling went on, her voice got quieter. "It isn't like I think I'm a bad person for feeling the way I feel, but I feel bad for not being honest with myself about this whole thing. I don't know what to do, and _sure as hell_ am not talking to Ma about this. Her shrieking… I can't take it right now." She finally turned and looked at Maura, turned around and facing the kitchen on the couch, her hand covering her mouth in thought, and her eyes looking at the ground. Making eye contact with Jane, Maura removed her hand from her mouth and gave her a sympathetic smile.

**Maura's POV**

Maura didn't react well to surprises. Or emotions. Or confusion. When Jane insinuated that she wasn't romantically attracted to men, Maura became confused. Then she realized; Jane was telling her, The Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, her deepest, darkest possible secret. Her mind was firing into too many synapses at once, and for once she couldn't keep up. She tried to cover her mouth so she wouldn't accidently blurt out something completely unrelated to Jane's confession of sorts. But, after a moment of trying to listen to her brain, she quit. Taking a page from Jane's book, she reacted compulsively. 'Thinking with her heart', as Jane would say (Although, Maura knew that you couldn't think with your heart due to the difference in types of neurons, and their communication, it still 'felt' correct). She smiled. She got up and stopped Jane's frantic pacing after she didn't get an immediate reaction from Maura fast enough, pulling her into a hug.

"Jane… You know I'll love you always, right? Your sexual orientation isn't… It isn't why I love you. It isn't why your family loves you. We love you for your stubbornness, your beautiful mind, your devotion to us and your job, your large heart. Although, medically speaking, I hope your heart is average size. Sexuality doesn't define you. The way you choose to handle everything defines you. Only _you_ can define yourself. Sexuality has a fluid quality to it; it changes its shape for each new item that carries it. _You_ carry your sexuality, and if you're anything _but_ who you are because of it, I would be ashamed, because you're a beautiful person, scars and all. The world… _You_ deserve to see that. You carry it. It doesn't carry you. Remember that for me, okay?" Maura felt a lump forming in her throat halfway through her speech, trying to swallow it down before her amygdala and lacrimal glands made a connection. She squeezed Jane's waist once, signaling her pulling back from the embrace. Her attempt to pull back failed, however. Jane squeezed even tighter, burying her head into Maura's neck-full of hair, her heated breath warming the hair there. Jane sniffed a few times, squeezing slightly tighter before letting go. Maura placed her hands on Jane's shoulders, tilting her head in acknowledgement of Jane's mumbled apology.

"Don't be sorry. I had this issue as well when I was younger. I struggled with my sexuality until someone told me a quote, by a children's author no less. I can't remember the authors' name, but the quote was... "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and –"

"' – Those who matter don't mind.'" Maura blinked at being interrupted, then stared at Jane.

"You know it? That's the first time I've ever spoken that quote aloud to anyone since then. How do you know it?" Jane's eyebrow rose as she sniffed some more and wiped at her nose with the tissue Maura handed her.

"It's… it's Dr. Seuss, Maur. He's the author. I used that as my Senior Quote in the yearbook. Wait, _you_ had problems with _your_ sexuality? I can't imagine that. A teen Maura… struggling with… Yeah… no. That's odd. At least you figured it out before you hit thirty. Do you… label yourself? I'm not too big on labels just yet. Probably won't ever be." Maura laughed at the expression Jane's face obtained when she thought of a teenage Maura.

"I don't identify myself with anything. I am simply myself. If you're asking if I find women attractive, then the answer is yes. I've found I have a tendency to have lingering eyes when one peaks my interest. Especially if I find them cerebrally stimulating." Jane snorted, shaking her head back and forth at her friend.

"Is that your way of saying that their brain needs to be sexy? I swear you're a nympho sometimes. Who told you that quote? I've loved it ever since Ma and Pop read it to us when I was younger. Is this weird? Us talking about this?" Jane shifted from foot to foot, fiddling with the tissue still in her hand, her brow creased in consternation. The doctor placed a reassuring hand on Jane's elbow, leading her into her bedroom so they could get changed for bed.

"Why would it be weird? Oh… for the record, you have no idea how hypersexual I am, it's actually quite annoying at times. For me, anyway. I forgot the pistachios in the kitchen, you can change while I go fetch them." Jane's eyes widened as she remembered the nuts. It had been their nightly routine when they slept over at either house, ever since Maura first introduced her to them. Grabbing the bag and two cups for the shells, Maura made her way back to the room, not thinking to knock first.

"Maura!" Jane husked loudly, making the doctor jump in response, her eyes closing immediately.

"Sorry Jane, I didn't think about it. Besides, I've seen your underwear hundreds of times. It isn't that big of a deal." Waving her hand nonchalantly, she placed the cups and pistachios on the bed, opening the drawer Jane had stashed Maura's clothes in and pulling out her pajamas.

"Uh… kay. Is our relationship weird? Please don't be offended for me asking that… But, I swear this is the weirdest friendship I've ever had. A good weird, but still weird." Frowning, Maura straightened up and gave Jane a questioning look, trying to squelch the fluttery feeling that came over her abdomen.

"What do you mean? Jane, I have nothing to compare it to. You'd have to tell me if it was weird or not. Otherwise, I'm not knowledgeable in this area." Grabbing her pajamas and setting them on the bed, Maura slid her hands to one hip, unzipping her skirt and shimmying out of it while waiting for Jane's response. When it didn't come, she looked up at the detective, only to find her staring at the bed, her breathing shallow.

"Maur… Can you… forewarn me the next time you take your clothes off please? I… see? This is what I mean! Us changing in front of each other, sharing the same bed majority of the time? I only counted two nights this week that we stayed at our places, _alone. _In the last two weeks. Ma even thinks it's a little odd." Maura stopped changing, her skirt on the floor and her shirt halfway undone, the buttons on the blouse forgotten at Jane's analysis. Jane had her head in her hands, rubbing at her temples.

"Are you uncomfortable with our relationship? If you are, just tell me Jane. I… I didn't mean to place you in an awkward position; I've never done this before, and I'm relying on you to set boundaries. As you well know, especially by now, I have very few boundaries set when it comes to those who are close to me. I'm sorry if I've upset you."

"You're jumping to conclusions, Maura. You haven't upset me, I just want to talk. Our relationship is… it isn't normal for a friendship, I don't think. Can I ask you a question? An actually serious one, and not one about superheroes. Which you never answered, by the way." Concerned, Maura nodded her head. _Is the way I interact with Jane inappropriate? I hope not, I think I'd find it hard to stop… being myself around her. _

"Have you ever thought of me… you know… _like that_?"

All expression fell from Maura's face, lost in trying to discover what Jane was asking.

"I'm sorry, you've confused me. Can you elaborate?"

Rolling her eyes, Jane dropped her hands to her sides, palms upturned.

"Really? This is the most difficult thing I've ever asked anyone, and she wants me to elabor– Okay, do you, _Maura_, like Jane?" When speaking their names, Jane pointed to each of them when their names respectively were announced.

"Of course I like you! Jane, that isn't elaborating. Be more specific please." Maura's heart fluttered in her chest. She wanted to hear the detective say it. To make sure she wasn't experiencing auditory hallucinations, or simply dreaming. Jane pulled her hair in frustration, uttering a guttural cry of annoyance.

"_DOYOULIKEMEROMANTICALLY_?!" Jane's face was beet red, and her yell caught Maura off-guard, making her take a step back. Her mouth opening in a silent 'O' of understanding, her eyes widened.

"Jane… I…" Maura apparently couldn't put the words together fast enough, because Jane bolted. Shocked at her reaction, Maura ran after her, stopping in the bedroom doorway.

**Jane's POV**

"Don't you dare run away from me, Jane Clementine Rizzoli. You asked me the question; you will wait for my answer, and wait patiently. I will not be left alone at your apartment worrying about you for the next eight hours. I refuse to put up with the stress that situation would cause." Halfway out the door, the only thing that stopped her was the voice coming from the end of the hallway, Maura's frame outlined by the bedroom light. She spoke softly, but with so much fervor in her tone that it sent chills plummeting throughout Jane's body, causing goose bumps to appear on her skin. Biting her tongue and avoiding eye contact, Jane slowly closed the door.

"I'm sorry, Maura. I've never… done _this_ before." Leaning against the now locked front door, Jane shoved her hands in her pockets and stared at her bare feet. She could hear the shuffling of Maura moving around in the kitchen, pouring two glasses of water and setting one for Jane on the bar.

"Sit. You want the answer to your question, correct?" Nodding ever so slightly, Jane dragged her feet to the stool, slumping down in it like a chastised child, her hands slowly wrapping around the glass and tilting it in a thank-you.

"Good. You will sit there and let me explain my response. Quietly, and without interruption. I love you, Jane Rizzoli. I have, and I always will. That does not mean that I will allow you to run from me; to abuse yourself, mentally or physically by _assuming_. If I feel that I need to put you in your place, I will. I do what _I _think is best for the both of us, whether you find it obnoxious or not. I will not fight with you, especially after that ridiculous catfight awhile ago. It is tiring, and it gets us nowhere. I respect you, and I expect the same. _But, _I will tell you this; if you _ever_ try and run from me again, I will hunt. You. Down. I do not like to chase, Jane. The repercussions from my having to seek you out if we disagree, or if you become _frightened, _will be tenfold. We are adults, and we can communicate maturely when needed. To answer your question… I've been waiting for you to ask me this for _three years_, Jane. Give me a break if it takes a moment for your words to sink in."

Hey guys! Sorry it's taken forever for a new chapter! I've been crazy busy with work, and I've been trying to write this darned chapter since the last chapter was posted. For some reason, I struggled with staying focused. ;)

I hope you guys like it! 3

Thank you so much for you fantabulistic reviews and PM's! I love them. They're like peanuts to an elephant for me. YUUUUMMM. Me being the elephant, not the nut! -_- J

Keep up with your amazingness with the reviews! This gyal needs her nuts! Eh… figuratively speaking, of course! ;D

*Tell me what you think about my take on the girls, I'm still trying to figure out their voices. XOXOXO


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